SlingBox owners?

Now you can record your streams for your SlingBox

Anyone out there doing this?

I'm thinking abt getting a SlingBox and would like some
feedback

Alan Pollock...

Slingbox rocks, but isn't it a little more logical to get as close to the
source as possible to capture? Hacking a Tivo for the actual files, or using a
tv tuner card to capture for instance.

me...

Well probably for most people it would be..... but mot
me.

You see I want to use a laptop as my "only" TV. I'm
trying to live a VERY space efficient lifestyle and I
don't really want to get an external tuner for my
laptop and deal with cables and such.... hence the
Sling Box idea.

I would have only the sling box hooked up to the cable
cord.....then stream the signal to my laptop even if I
was setting right there in the same room. I'd have the
sling box just setting on floor entirely by itself.

What you think? That work?

But if one must, then use something like VLC, or any of a dozen other free
programs that will caputure and transcode streams to whatever you wish.

me...

What is VLC?

Alan Pollock...

Sure it will. And if you're trying to get your laptop to act as a pvr by
capturing stuff and saving it for later viewing, that'll work too.

me...

Dumb question but could I physically keep the SlingBox
at a friends house hooked up to cable system

And then watch "TV" at my house several miles away on
my laptop and Internet connection?

Alan Pollock...

That's what slingbox is for and it works fine. Just make sure that only you
have access to it, or that you work out schedule with your friend, because
only one person at a time can access the device remotely.

Another thing is to ensure that the upload bandwidth at your friend's place is
as wide as possible. My Internet connection has a top upload speed of 1Mb/s,
and I tend to watch sling remotely on my phone at around 250-400 or more kbps
(using evdo), and on my local LAN or when my phone or laptop is on WiFi at
around 600 kbps or more. If your friend's upload bandwidth is only 320 kbps
for instance, he might not appreciate your using most of it for your
slingbox's streaming. You can set your streaming speed in the sling program so
you're not locked in to anything.

I don't think slingbox is worth doing on a laptop at under around 200 kbps. On
a phone 200 kbps works because the screen is so much smaller. On a laptop at 3
or 400 it's pretty good, although at full-screen closer to 400 becomes
adequate in my opinion. It all depends on what your expectations are.

Best idea would be to find someone in your city with a slingbox to show you
how it works at different streaming speeds. Nex

me...

well that was my plan

I know it sounds kind of weird but I'm trying to live
as material free as possible... to only have exactly
what's needed

I'm thinking abt living in RV or very very small
"capsule" like apartment to go back to college full
time

The quality stuff still stands, but sure it would work and work well.

VLC is a media player/streamer etc (from videolan). So are media player
classic, super (which I use as my main transcoding gui for files I've saved in
mpeg format with the two tv tuners on my pc), and a bunch of others. They'll
massage your feet if configured properly, and they're all free.

Best of luck - Nex

I've never regretted getting a Slingbox, even for a second. I use it to sling
to my cell phone so I can catch up on last night's tivoed shows or watch
something live.

me...

Alan.....I'm still unclear on something concerning the
Sling Box

Can it be used WITHOUT a computer at all on the home
end?

In other words....can I buy a SlingBox and just hook it
up to my broadband connection and antenna/cable at home
with NO home computer at all on that end?

Alan Pollock...

Don't see why you can't just hook it up to the ethernet port of your cable
modem. I use a router between the modem and the slingbox because I have
several computers on the line. Check the Slingmedia site to be absolutely sure
though. Nex

me...

Ok will do

Again my usage is different than most.

My goal is to use a slingbox as a head end unit only.

I would be using a laptop as my only computer and my
only way to watch any TV signals via the slingbox
output

Of course....someday soon I'd imagine I wont even need
the slingbox as for a fee the major networks (CBS, NBC)
will let you subscribe to their own "streams" of TV.

What you think?

You could get a real pvr at home and use your phone or laptop to tell it to
record stuff when you're on the road with Sling. Sling supports all kinds of
remotes and shows a representations of yours on your screen, which you then
simply click on. Commanding your pvr remotely via Sling couldn't be easier.

And recording so close to the source ensures great quality, which you can then
capture to the outside using actual Wires, or through your high-speed LAN, or
by getting the pvr's hd files.

Go for it. Nex